When the Walls Came Tumbling Down
by khughes830
Summary: Sequel to Love Walks In takes place on Will's first birthday and afterwards.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Zach, Kendall or any other AMC characters are not mine. If they were... well, Lavery would take another header over the cliffs!  
**A/N: **Sequel to "Love Walks In". It's a soap, so you know that the family can't be COMPLETELY happy all of the time. Well, this is one of those times. As for the 'he' - your first instict will probably be right. I'm not looking to psych anyone out, so the first name that pops up in your head is more than likely going to right! Enjoy and fear not, all will end Zendalliciously!

* * *

"Oh god… Zach… just… right there… Oh my god, Zach!"

He never got tired of hearing his name the way she said it when they were making love. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. He balanced himself on one hand and wrapped his other around her back while she climaxed. He was right behind her, calling out her name and trying to remember how to breathe. He laid back on the bed and pulled his wife down on top of him.

"Hmm… that was by far the perfect end to a perfect day" she mumbled into his ear. She could feel every inch of his body shake as he started to laugh. "I couldn't agree more, my dear."

She pushed herself up and smiled. "I'm going to jump in the shower real quick and then check on Will."

He ogled Kendall as she walked across the room. "Leave it on when you're done." She nodded and entered the bathroom. He sighed and threaded his fingers together behind his head as he listened to Kendall turn on the shower.

Today had been Will's birthday. He thought Kendall went a little overboard for a party for a one year old, but she had insisted. "You only turn one once" she exclaimed a couple of weeks before.

"Well, yeah, but he's also only going to turn two once and three once…" That did not go over so well – he could tell by the glare he received from her over dinner, so he quickly agreed to whatever she wanted to do. There were streamers, balloons, more gifts than a one year old could ever need and a cake that Will went face first into as he and Kendall tried to blow out the candle. Zach found that much funnier than Kendall did and managed to take three or four pictures of the two of them before Kendall started yelling. Everyone left at about 6 and it took them a good three hours to get the house cleaned up and to get all the toys and other gifts up to Will's room and getting him to finally go to sleep. They had spent all day doing 'one year old things' as Kendall had put it, so when Zach suggested they do something a little more adult, Kendall raced him to the bedroom.

"All yours" Kendall said as she walked out of the bathroom, tying her robe around her waist. She opened the bedroom door and walked out into the hallway, only to stop on the threshold and turn to look at him. "You know, we really do need to get our clothes off the steps."

Zach sat up and smirked at her. "Hey, I do believe it was you who said, and I quote 'Do we really need to waste our time with the clothes in the bedroom'."

"Shut up" she said, smirking back at him, remembering the look on his face when she took off her blouse and bra at the top of the stairs.

"I'll get them after my shower" Zach said, getting out of bed.

"No, I'll get them…" and with that, a wail came over the baby monitor next to the bed. Zach cocked an eyebrow at her. "I think you are being paged my dear. I'll get the clothes, you go get him." Kendall headed toward the nursery as Zach went into the shower.

* * *

Kendall walked in and turned on the lamp to see her son sitting in the middle of his crib, crying his little heart out. She had gotten very good at interpreting his cries – this one, with the bright red face and loud wail meant that he needed a new diaper. She grabbed him out of the crib and made quick work of the dirty diaper, replacing it with a new one in no time. She had become quite adept at changing a diaper and could do it while being completely distracted by something else. Zach had yet to pick that up, as was evident when he dropped a dirty diaper right into his lap one afternoon while he was trying to carry on a phone conversation and change Will's diaper at the same time.

Kendall walked over to the large window in the nursery. It was by far her favorite thing about this room. Zach had built a huge picture window with a seat because he wanted his son to have light and sunshine and he wanted them to be able to enjoy it when they sat in there with him.

Kendall flipped on another lap next to the window and sat down on the window seat, scooting back till she was up against the wall. She pulled her legs up onto the seat and looked down at Will, who was currently wiggling around in her arms. She started to hum – that always seemed to calm him down. It didn't have to be anything in particular, jus as long as it was some kind of melody. Will was starting to fall asleep when Zach walked over to them. Without saying a word, he picked up Kendall's feet and sat down Indian style, putting her feet back in his lap. This had become a routine of sorts – they found themselves like this a couple of times a week. Kendall tried to steer clear of the window during the winter, but it was a warm night at the end of May. The windows in the house were open. It was nights like this where they would sit and watch Will till he fell asleep. Zach would rub her feet and they would talk. Bianca and Simone always asked what they could possibly have left to talk about, but Kendall would always say "We don't talk about anything – we just talk and it's nice." They always felt safe and secure in these moments that it didn't matter what they talked about – all that mattered it that it was the three of them.

He was on his fourth lap around the house when a light in the back of the house came on. He ducked behind a bush and watched as Kendall appeared with Will in the window. He watched as she rocked him back and forth, trying to get him to calm down. He felt the anger build inside of him when Zach appeared and invaded their space. The perfect scene he had been watching was now distorted and that made him so very angry. "This ends now" he whispered to himself, watching this family until they turned off the lights and went back to bed.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **see chapter one. Enjoy!

* * *

Beverly smiled as she pulled in the driveway. She thanked her lucky stars everyday that she had managed to land this job. She moved to Pine Valley just four months ago to go to college, but she could only afford to go part time at night since she had to work. She was afraid she was going to have to work a bazillion hours a week to make ends meat, but that was until she showed up on the front stoop of the Fargate House.

_Myrtle had been like her grandmother and treated her as such from the minute she showed up. Beverly had been reading the want ads the next day, praying she found a job that was more than just waiting tables when Myrtle came in the room._

_"Looking for a job, my dear?"_

_"Something like that. Hoping to find the perfect job is more like it" Beverly said, sighing as she read down the page. She looked back up at Myrtle, who seemed to be sizing her up. "What?"_

_"How do you feel about children?"_

_"What?" Beverly asked, sitting up and staring at her landlord._

_"Children. How do you feel about children?"_

_"Oh, well, I love kids, but I'm not sure…"_

_Myrtle held up her hand as she picked up the phone and dialed. Beverly watched with interest as Myrtle started talking. "Kendall, dear, it's Myrtle… fine, fine, fine and you and the gorgeous Mr. Slater… how about that fabulous little boy… oh, the reason I'm calling – have you found yourself a nanny yet?... yeah, good help is really hard to find, especially when it comes to your son… well, it's just that I may have answer to your problems sitting on my couch… yeah, we can meet you two at the casino… an hour? We'll be there. See you then." Myrtle smiled as she hung up the phone._

_"What was that?" Beverly asked, standing up._

_"That was a job for you, assuming you hit it off with little Will Slater, that is. My dear friends are looking for a nanny and haven't been able to find anyone. I'm sure the pay will be more than you could imagine and…"_

_Beverly threw her arms around the woman. "Thank you Myrtle." She pulled back and looked down at herself. "Oh god, I need to go change."_

_"Well hurry up. It's going to take some time to get out there." With that, Beverly shot up the stairs to change. An hour later, Beverly had herself a job as the Slater's nanny. Will took to her instantly and Kendall and Zach were able to breathe a sigh of relief._

Beverly grabbed the small bag from the passenger seat and headed up the stairs.

"Good morning" she yelled as she walked through the front door. She could hear Kendall in the kitchen feeding Will. She assumed Zach was lurking somewhere upstairs. She dropped her purse in her regular spot and headed toward the kitchen. Beverly walked over and dropped a kiss on the top of Will's head.

"Morning. Did we have a good birthday?"

"The kid pulled in a boatload" Zach said, walking into the kitchen.

"Well, I hope one more small gift won't be too much" Beverly said as she pulled a small, soft bear out of the bag. Will's eyes lit up and he reached out to grab the bear. Kendall just laughed as she took the dishes off of Will's highchair. Beverly pulled him out of it as Kendall put the dirty dishes and glasses in the dishwasher.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't have been here for the party last night, but you know how those pesky classes can get in the way" Beverly said to Will. He laughed at her back. "So, I was thinking that we could have a date day – lunch at BJ's and wreaking havoc in the park all afternoon. What'd say little man?" Will just laughed again and Beverly responded with her own laugh. "I'll take that as a yes."

Kendall and Zach just watched Beverly and Zach. Kendall had been a nervous wreck about hiring a nanny – she didn't want to leave Will with just anyone. When Myrtle showed up with Beverly that day at the casino, they both knew they had found the right person.

Beverly turned her attention back to her employers. "Anything going on today?"

"Not really" Kendall said as she grabbed her travel mug from Zach. "I've got a late meeting, but Zach should be home relatively early so you have some time to relax before you have to go to class tonight."

"I should be here by 3:30 or so."

Beverly laughed. "Wow, 2 whole hours of free time. Whatever will I do!" Zach and Kendall just smiled back at her. They started to head for the door and Beverly followed with Will. Kendall kissed her son on the cheek. "You two have a fun date day. Don't wear her out to much" she said to her son. Zach followed suit, whispering something about a hockey game they were going to watch before mom got home. Beverly and Will waved bye to Zach and Kendall as they walked to their cars.

Beverly closed the door but ran to the windows to watch them leave. She hated to be a voyeur, but their relationship was like something she had only read in books in high school. She watched as Zach opened the door of his wife's car and gave her a very passionate kiss before shutting the door. He watched her pull away before getting in his car to leave for the casino. Beverly sighed and looked down at the little boy on her hip. "William, all I gotta say is that a man better look at me one day like your daddy looks at your mommy every time he sees her." Will just smiled up at her. "What do you say we got get you cleaned up and head out for the day." She just laughed at the little boy in her arms as she walked up the stairs, not feeling the pair of eyes watching her and Will through the front window.

* * *

Beverly kicked the door closed behind her as she looked down at the little boy who was struggling to stay awake at this point. It has 2:15 and it had been a long and tiring day for both of them. 

Lunch at BJ's had been eventful – everyone who came by seemed to recognize little Will Slater and wanted to see how he was doing. It took them both a good hour to eat their lunch and Will was starting to get fussy and bored sitting there. Once they got to the park, he was raring to go. Beverly and Will ran into little Adam and his nanny, so Will had some to play with for little while. They stopped on their way home to split a scoop of ice cream and now Will was very ready for a nap. Beverly had no idea that they were being watched and had been watched since they left the house.

Beverly dropped her purse in the entry way and walked upstairs to put Will down for his nap. She put him down in the crib and tucked him in with his new bear, which he had immediately fallen in love with. She pulled the curtains a bit and turned out the lights so that he could sleep in peace. She smiled at him on last time before pulling his door shut.

Beverly hit the bottom of the steps, trying to decide what she needed to do before Zach got home for the day when she noticed something out of the ordinary – the front door was open. "I thought I closed that" she said to herself. She shrugged and walked over to close the door. She turned around and ran smack into the most menacing face she had ever seen. He quickly covered her mouth and nose with a small rag and she started feeling light headed. She tried to protest as she dropped to floor, but she was unable to say a word. As she blacked out, the last thing she saw was a pair of black leather boots walking up the steps toward the bedrooms.

* * *

"Oh god…" Beverly moaned as she covered her eyes with her hands. She cracked one eye and looked through her fingers. She was laying on the couch in the Slater's living room. She pushed herself up and felt like her head was swimming. She leaned over and put her head on her knees, willing this headache to go away. 

'I don't remember falling asleep on the couch' she thought to herself as she lifted her head up a few minutes later. She glanced down at her watch – 3:00. She got up to go get a drink of water from the kitchen. As she hit the entryway, she looked at the front door and it all came back to her.

"WILL!" she screamed as she ran up the steps toward the nursery. She threw open the door and gasped. The room was in complete disarray – drawers were opened and several were empty. She noticed that most of his clothes were gone, as were a couple of overnight bags Zach and Kendall kept stored in this room, along with the spare diaper bag that Kendall kept for her when she took Will out for the afternoon. She remembered leaving it sitting on the window seat, but it was no longer there. Most importantly, Will Slater was no longer asleep in his crib. Beverly ran through all the rooms in the upstairs portion of the house, hoping that he had just gotten out of his crib. She stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the master bedroom when the face came back to her – the tall, menacing man with the angriest blue eyes she had ever seen.

She quickly grabbed the phone off the side table and dialed three numbers.

"911 – What is your emergency?"

"I… he…"

"Ma'am?"

Tears started to run down Beverly's cheeks. "Will's gone. Please send the police immediately!"

TBC……


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **The lyrics are from "Feeling Good" most recently heard by me by the fabulous Michael Buble. Disclaimer in first chapter.

* * *

_Stars when you shine_

_You know how I feel_

_Scent of the pine_

_You know how I feel_

_Oh freedom is mine_

_And I know how I feel_

_It's a new dawn_

_It's a new day_

_It's a new life_

_For me_

Zach was singing along to the song on the radio as he was driving home for the day. He had TIVO'ed the hockey game last night and planned to spend the afternoon explaining the nuances of the game to Will. Normally Kendall beat him home for the day, so he rarely got time like this with Will, just the two of them in the middle of the day.

As he turned the corner, he saw four police cars in front of his house and an unmarked car sitting in the drive. He felt the knots form in his stomach as he pulled in the driveway and pulled the key out of the ignition. He took a deep breath as he saw Derek Frye walk out of the front door. Zach threw open the door and sprinted toward the house and stopped in front of Derek, who was blocking his way into the house.

"Derek, what is…"

"Zach, you need to come inside." Derek walked him into the house. Zach walked into the living room to see Beverly sitting with one of Derek's deputies, crying hysterically. Zach was immediately at her side.

"Beverly?"

She looked up at her boss and the tears started flowing again. "Zach, I'm so… so… sorry" she said between tears. He kneeled down in front of her as Derek placed his hand on her shoulder. "Beverly, maybe you should tell Zach what happened."

She looked at the police chief and nodded. She took a deep breath before looking back at Zach. "Will and I had just come home from being at the park. He was half asleep by the time we got back here, so I had to carry him in, along with the bag and all the other stuff. Well, I thought… no, I know I kicked that door shut, but I didn't have a free hand to lock it like I normally do – I swear, I was going to lock it when I came back down. Anyway, I put Will down and came back… the door was standing wide open… I thought that maybe I didn't get it shut all the way or that the wind…" The tears started to come again, so she took a couple of deep breaths so that she could continue. "Well, I shut and locked the door and I turned around and ran into… I swear, Zach, I have never seen him before, but he looked so mean, so angry. Derek said he knocked me out with some chloroform – all I remember is a rag over my mouth and falling down… I woke up about a half hour later on the couch… I guess he moved me… anyway, he… Zach, he took Will and his clothes and toys and the extra diaper bag. I swear, I scoured this house…"

Zach stood up. Everything she said after 'he took Will' was a buzz in his ears. "Will… someone took my boy?" he asked, looking between Derek and Beverly. Beverly stood up in front of Zach. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Zach – you are always telling me to make sure to lock the door and…" she started to cry again and Zach broke out of his trance. He put his hands on Beverly's shoulders. "Hey, stop. You didn't do anything wrong. This is not your fault. I'm not mad." Beverly gave him a slight smile before sitting back down.

Derek came over next to him. "Maybe we should talk in the kitchen. She's had a rough afternoon." Zach followed Derek into the kitchen and sat down at the bar.

"Ok, so for the obvious questions – do you know who could have done this? You or Kendall got any enemies?" That last question made Zach laugh out loud.

Derek put down his notebook and looked over at Zach. "Zach, I think you need to go get Kendall."

Zach dropped his head to the counter. "How do I tell her that…"

"I don't know, but it's about to break all over the news. You don't want her finding out that way, do you?"

"No, no one should find out that way. Derek, can you send an officer to Myrtle's to get her, to New Beginnings to get Erica and over to the house to tell Jackson and…"

Derek marched out of the kitchen and sent three deputies to all the places. He ordered them to bring everyone back here. Zach stood up and gathered his thoughts. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and headed for the door. "Zach, do you want one of the officers to drive you?"

Zach nodded at Derek and immediately handed his keys over to the officer that appeared at his side. Thank god the officer didn't try to talk to Zach. He left Zach alone in his thoughts. Zach collapsed into the back seat of his car. 'How do I tell her that our boy was taken from the home I promised her would be their safe haven?' he thought to himself, willing the tears that had started to form in his eyes to not fall.

* * *

Kendall was in her third meeting since lunch with no end in sight. Investors and production managers and everyone under the sun seemed to be invested in the newest Fusion line that had taken the cosmetics area by storm. Demand was huge for all their products and they were trying to figure out how to keep up with demand. Everyone had gotten situated and Kendall was about to launch into her opening speech when Danielle opened the door.

"Kendall." Danielle said from the door. "Kendall, you need…"

"Danielle, whatever it is can wait. We are about to start this meeting and…" That's when Zach appeared behind Danielle and the instant she saw him and the look on his face she knew something was horribly wrong. Babe and Simone just watched as she walked out the door. Danielle stepped in to give them some privacy.

Babe and Simone walked over to Danielle. "Danni, what's going…"

"OH MY GOD, NO!" They all froze and looked at the door from where Kendall's scream had come from. "Someone followed Beverly and Will home today and knocked Beverly out and took Will. He's missing" Danielle whispered to Babe and Simone.

They threw open the doors to see Kendall and Zach sitting on the floor, Kendall in Zach's lap, tears streaming down both of their faces. Zach was doing his best to calm her down, but he was in the process of losing it himself. Simone looked back at her two co-workers. "Babe, will you…" she said, motioning to the boardroom. Babe quickly went back in to cancel the meeting and relay what had happened while Simone and Danni tried to help Zach and Kendall. Simone finally convinced them that they needed to get off the floor. Zach and Kendall slowly got up and he wrapped his arm around her waist when her knees buckled.

"Simone, I'm taking Kendall home. Erica and Jackson should be there by the time we get back and…" he wasn't sure what else to say as he looked between the two women.

"Zach, go. Babe and I will take care of things here. Just call when you hear something" she said, ushering them into the waiting elevator. She gave Zach a forced smile as the doors closed. She took a deep breath before turning to face Babe and Danielle.

"Do they know…" Babe asked.

"Nothing – I guess it just happened."

Danielle spoke up through her tears. "Zach said… he came home at 3:30 and found my dad and other officers there and…" Her tears started to fall so she covered her face with her hands. Simone and Babe quickly wrapped themselves around each other, letting all their tears mix together.

* * *

Kendall's tears stopped half way back to the house and she just sat there, numb, feeling only Zach's presence next to her, his arm around her shoulders. 'Will is missing, Kendall'… his words played over and over and over in her head. Zach assured her that Beverly was taken by surprise and that none of this was her fault and Kendall had believed him – there was no way anyone involved with Will would want to take him from his family.

The police had done a good job at keeping the news outlets away from the house, but as they turned onto their road, they were bombarded by flashing lights and people rushing the car. Kendall tucked her head into Zach's chest and he covered her face with his hand while he ducked his head. They pulled up to the house to see Jackson and Reggie waiting for them on the front porch. Zach kept his arm securely around Kendall as they walked toward the house. Jackson leaned in and gave Kendall a quick kiss on the cheek. Zach passed her off the Reggie, asking him to take her inside. Reggie quickly agreed, knowing that Jackson and Zach needed to talk.

"Have they heard anything" Zach asked as he shut the front door.

Jackson sighed. "Nothing much, but a nation wide AMBER alert is being issued right now and Derek is hopeful that…"

With that, Derek and one of his deputies came flying out of the house and down the steps toward the patrol cars.

"Derek!" they both yelled at the same time.

Derek turned around and faced Jackson and Zach. "A cashier in a small grocery store on the outside of town just called in reporting that some guy came in by himself buying up all the baby stuff he could get his hands on – told her that him and his son were going on a road trip. I'll call as soon as I know anything."

The fear that Zach had been biting back all day made its presence known. As Derek pulled away, Zach turned and threw up over the side of the porch.

"Better?" Jackson asked as Zach pulled himself upright.

"Not really."

"I didn't imagine… c'mon, you need to go be with your wife."

Zach walked into the house and looked in the living room. Erica and Myrtle were sitting on the couch, drinking tea and not doing much talking, which was rare for the two of them. Zach's heart broke when he saw Kendall, standing at the window, gripping the 8x10 of the three of them the day Kendall and Zach renewed their vows. He had the same picture in his office. He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She turned and buried her head in his chest.

"It's going to be fine, Kendall. They are going to find him and bring him home and its all going to work out."

"So says you" she spit out, turning back toward the window and pulling out of his grasp. He was taken back by her words, but he knew she was just as upset as he was and she was putting up her guard.

Derek returned an hour later and had a sketchy description of the guy from the cashier. All the cashier was able to give him was that he was about 6' or so, brown hair, blue eyes. She mainly concentrated on the $150 worth of baby goods that he had bought and paid cash for. They checked the security cameras, but the guy had a ball cap pulled down over his face as he exited the store and got into a nondescript four door car.

* * *

It was midnight when Zach finally flipped off the television. All the news outlets were covering the story and he had just about enough about hearing about the baby and the two of them. He looked around the room. Myrtle had gone home with Beverly a couple of hours earlier. Erica was asleep curled up next to Jackson on their large chaise lounge. Kendall was next to him, staring out the window, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Jackson?" Jack looked over at Zach. "You all want the guest room?" There was no question that Jack and Erica were staying the night.

"Maybe later – she just fell asleep." Zach nodded and tossed the blanket on the back of their couch over to Jackson. He was tucking it around him and Erica when Zach stood up and looked at Kendall. He could tell she was exhausted and completely zoned out. She didn't make as much as a peep when he picked her up in his arms and started to carry her to the bedroom.

"I don't think I can sleep" she mumbled as he hit the top of the stairs.

"Me neither, but we need to try. There's an officer outside and I've got my cell phone, so we'll know the minute anything happens." He walked as fast as he could past Will's room and shut the door to the master bedroom. He sat her on the bed and helped her out of her skirt and blouse. He quickly divested himself of his pants and dress shirt and crawled into bed next to her, flipping off the lamp as he did so. He could feel her starting to cry again and did the only thing he knew to do – he pulled her as tightly as he could to him and let her cry on his shoulder.

* * *

It was after 10 before he had pulled into the parking lot of the motel on the outside of Mount Airy, just across the North Carolina state line. He had stayed her a few months earlier when he started his search. Will had been relatively good the whole way down her and he had fallen asleep about an hour earlier. He smiled at the boy in the back seat – 'why would he be nervous – he knows me' he thought to himself as he pulled the boy out of the back seat. He looked around before entering the motel room. He laid Will on one of the double bed and went back out to the car to retrieve their bags.

He turned on the TV and was flipping through channels. As he flipped to one of the national news channels, he stopped. 'AMBER ALERT' was printed at the bottom of the screen as the anchor talked.

"… and to stay on top of our top story, William Alexander Slater, a one year old boy was taken from his home in Pine Valley, PA this afternoon. The kidnapper knocked the child's nanny out and took the baby from the home. William is the only child of Zach and Kendall Slater. Zach Slater owns several casinos throughout the world and Kendall Slater is the CEO and co-founder of Fusion Cosmetics. Reporters on the scene say…"

'Only child of Zach and Kendall Slater' – this made his blood boil. He knew this was going to happen, he just didn't expect it to happen this quickly. He saw pictures of the three of them flash on the screen – apparently from some sort of wedding… oh yeah, 'the vow renewal' on New Year's Eve. He flipped off the TV as Will started to cry. He tried to shush him, tried to give him a bottle, changed his diaper, but nothing worked. He was getting madder and madder that Will just kept crying for no apparent reason. He tossed Will on the bed and walked outside to make a call. He knew that he was just using her this time, like he did the last time, but he didn't care. A crying baby wasn't going to hinder his plans, not now.

The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Hey, Marly. Yeah, yeah, it's Ryan. I'm good… yeah, I'm back in town for a little bit… hey, listen, I need your help. Can you come over here?... yeah, same motel. OK, see you in 10."

Ryan sat down on the front stoop and smiled as he listened to Will cry and cry till he cried himself to sleep.

TBC….


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

They both tossed and turned all night. Neither one slept very well, but they held onto each other like the other was the only thing holding them to the ground. Kendall would hold Zach while he dreamed and Zach held Kendall while she cried for her son, both wondering when this was going to end, hoping whoever had him at least was caring for him so that he didn't feel lost and alone.

Jackson was stirred by a knock at the door. He and Erica had slept in the living room that night, right by the phone, just in case. Erica had spent most of the night crying for the little boy and making promises to God about her family and how things would be if he returned the little boy to them unharmed and healthy.

Jackson extracted himself from Erica, who was finally sleeping soundly, and looked at the clock on the wall as he walked to the front door – it was 8:30 and Will had been gone for a gut-wrenching 18 hours. He opened the door to Myrtle and Beverly.

"Is there any news?" Myrtle asked.

"No, not yet. Come on in." Jackson held the door for them as Myrtle and Beverly walked into the house. Beverly stopped short and Jackson could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Beverly, no one blames you here. We know you love him just as much as the rest of us do. So, no more tears."

Beverly smiled at him. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just… I didn't get much sleep last night."

Jackson returned the smile. "I don't think anyone did." He finally noticed the bags in Myrtle and Beverly's hands. "Whatcha got there?"

Beverly looked down. "We thought you all might be hungry so we bought… but I wasn't sure what everyone would want so I think we bought one of everything."

"Food would probably be a good idea. C'mon" he said, taking the bags from her and walking toward the kitchen. Myrtle, Jackson, and Beverly started putting the groceries away and Myrtle started to warm up some pans.

"Where are Zach and Kendall?" Myrtle inquired.

Jackson looked upstairs. "Zach took her upstairs to bed a little after midnight. I don't know if they got any sleep or night, but I figured they would emerge when they were ready."

Beverly and Myrtle just nodded, not really sure what else to say.

* * *

Kendall was thrashing in her sleep again. Zach held onto her, whispering in her ear. "Kendall. Kendall. C'mon Kendall, you need to wake up." Her eyes shot open and she sat straight up, dropping in head into her hands.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" she choked out.

She looked over at him with sad eyes and it broke his heart. He ran his hand over her hair. "I'm afraid not, my love." She didn't know how she still had tears to shed, but she did. Zach pulled her to his chest and let her cry her heart out. She pulled back when her tears finally subsided.

"What time is it?"

He looked over at the clock. "It's about 9:30. I think there is food downstairs – I'm pretty sure the smell of bacon and eggs woke me up about 20 minutes ago. Do you want…"

Kendall made a face and waved her hand. "I don't really think I could eat anything."

"Kendall, starving yourself isn't going to bring Will back any sooner."

"I KNOW THAT" she screamed at him, with pure rage in her eyes. It was a look he had never seen before and it surprised him. She took a deep breath and looked back at him, that look of rage suddenly gone. "Zach, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I'm just so worried and…" she couldn't even get the last of the words out. She turned to look out the window and Zach came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

He pressed a kiss into her temple. "I know, my love, I know. It's alright. OK, you go take a shower and I'm going to come downstairs. When you are ready, please just come down and try to eat a little something, even if it is just toast."

She gave her husband a sad smile. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I just need some time to decompress without Jackson and Erica hovering."

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. As he walked down the hall, he stopped in front of the door to Will's room and ran his hand down the frame, sending up a quick prayer that his son was safe. He took a deep breath and headed down the steps.

The doorbell rang as Zach hit the bottom step. He went to the door and opened it to an exhausted looking Simone and Ethan. She smiled up at him, as brightly as she could behind the unshed tears.

"Hi Zach. We just… we don't want to bug you guys but we were just wondering if there was…"

"Nothing yet, but…"

The entire house went silent as the phone rang. Zach, Simone and Ethan sprinted into the kitchen as Jackson picked up the phone.

"Hello? Yeah, ok… no we're all here. That's fine."

Jackson hung up the phone and looked at Zach. "That was Derek. I think he might have some news – he's on his way over here and wanted to make sure that everyone was around."

Zach just nodded and let out the breathe he had been holding. He smiled at Jackson who just nodded and returned to his seat at the table. Zach looked over at Simone and Ethan, who looked lost just standing there. "Well, Simone, Ethan, are you two joining us for breakfast? It looks like there is enough food to feed an army?"

Simone looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, no… we don't want to… we just wanted."

Zach walked over and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Simone, please – I think Kendall needs someone else here besides Erica." He pulled back and Simone just nodded, agreeing to stay without saying a word. The two of them walked over and grabbed a couple of plates.

Zach headed toward the steps when he heard Kendall coming down. He stopped her at the bottom and pulled her into a hug. "Simone is here" he whispered in her ear.

"Thank God. Hopefully she can keep Erica from annoying me too much today" she whispered back.

He pulled back and looked at her. She didn't look great, but she looked much better than when they had woken up. "Derek's on his way – Jack thinks he may have some news." Kendall sighed. "Ok, then."

Zach smiled at his wife and took her hand. He threaded his fingers through hers as they walked into the kitchen to face the day.

* * *

Ryan was trying to concentrate on the person on the other end of the line, but was struggling because Will kept crying. Marly had tried everything, but nothing seemed to be working.

"Hold on a second" Ryan said into the phone. He turned and glared at Marly. "Will please shut that damn kid the hell up!"

Marly shot out of her chair and glared at Ryan. "I'm trying! What the hell else do you want me to do? I don't know a damn thing about kids!" The screaming only made a scared Will cry even louder.

Ryan glared back at her and went back to his phone call. "Yeah, sorry, I'm here. That's great – just text me the info. Later." He snapped his phone shut and sat down on the bed as Will kept crying and crying.

"Here, you take him" Marly said, holding Will out to Ryan. Ryan just laughed at her and went back to watching TV.

"Ryan, what the hell are you doing? Whose kid is this?"

Ryan sat up, glaring at the TV as the stock footage of Kendall and Zach arriving home last night aired for the millionth time since last night. 'Their fancy car, their fancy home, their perfect family…' Ryan thought to himself as he shot off the bed and grabbed a glass from the side table and threw it against the wall. Marly recoiled with Will back into the corner, as far away from Ryan as she could.

"DON'T QUESTION MY MOTIVES, BITCH!" he screamed at her. "That's my life" he said, breathing hard and pointing at the TV. "That's my life and they…" The anger boiled over and he grabbed his jacket off the chair. "I'm going for a walk. I need to make one more call and I can't do that here if you can't control that stupid kid."

She stared as he slammed the door shut. Will started to calm down when Ryan left and soon he was starting to fall asleep in her arms. Marly stared down at the boy. "I'm sorry little man, but I need to go!" She left Will asleep on the bed and quickly grabbed her purse and got as far away from the hotel and Ryan Lavery as she could.

* * *

_Savannah_

She walked off the elevator, sipping her coffee and reviewing her latest pitch in her head. As she rounded the corner toward her office, she noticed that most everyone was huddled around the TV's that were on the wall. She walked up and through the group and found her assistant, Carla.

She tapped Carla on the shoulder and Carla turned around and looked at her boss. "What's going on? What are you all doing?"

Carla looked at her boss like she had suddenly sprouted another head. "God, Greenlee, you been under a rock overnight or what? You haven't seen the news?"

Greenlee stared at her assistant. "What are you talking about?"

Carla pointed her attention to the TV and the news banner that currently read "Child Abduction in Pine Valley". Greenlee gasped and dropped her coffee and briefcase on the floor and pushed her way up to one of the TVs and turned the volume up. Her shock turned to horror when the reporter recapped the story – "William Alexander Slater has been missing for just over 18 hours now and no new information has been coming in. William is the only son of Zach and Kendall Slater, a very influential couple…"

Greenlee turned from the TV with tears in her eyes – she may have been mad at Kendall, but she would have never wished this on her or Zach, never. She had talked to Jackson a few times since leaving town and he always relayed information about Will. He even emailed her a picture of him once and it had made her smile. She was sure that Kendall was being a great mom and Jackson told her how in love with Will Zach had fallen. 'I need to do something, call Jack or…' she thought to herself when she heard the phone ring. Carla picked up the call – "Good morning, Hammon and Lancer. This is Carla, how may I help you?" Greenlee watched as her assistant made a face and put the person on hold. "Greenlee, it's for you. It sounds like that guy again."

Greenlee suddenly felt sick as she walked over to a phone across the room. She stared at it for a moment before picking up the call. "This is Greenlee."

"Hey."

She sighed. "Ryan, I told you to never call me here again."

"I've got something for you." She could hear him opening a door and shutting it behind him.

"I don't want it."

"Oh, c'mon Green – it's a great surprise. You are really going to…" and with that, she heard what sounded like a baby cooing in the background.

"Oh my god" she whispered as she collapsed in a chair. "Ryan, what did you do?"

"I told you, I got you something. I'll be down there in a couple of days with him and…"

Greenlee shot up out of her chair and dropped the phone into her receiver. "CARLA" she screamed from across the room. Carla bolted over to her. "What?"

"I need you to get me on the very next flight to Pine Valley. Call me when you've got it – I need to go home to grab some clothes and I need to call Martin and…"

Carla grabbed her boss by the shoulders. "Greenlee, what is going on?"

Greenlee sighed. "It's a long story, but I know who has that baby and I need to go…" Carla just looked at her. "OK, Carla, you know how I don't like to talk about where I came from, who I was before I showed up here – well, that's it, that's my former life" she said, pointing at the TV. "Kendall Slater – she and I were… and I need to…"

Carla just nodded. "OK, just go. I'll call you when I've got it!"

Greenlee bolted out of the building, knowing that she was the only one that could fix this.

* * *

He could see her frustration starting to grow. Derek's news had been good, but not great – the car had been stolen from an impound lot on the outside of town. The night watch man had forgotten to lock the gate and the guy who took Will had his pick of cars. It was last picked up by a traffic camera right before the North Carolina border, but hadn't been seen since. Derek wasn't sure if that meant that the guy had stopped somewhere or saw the news and started driving on back roads.

That last bit of news was just too much for Kendall. She had retreated upstairs a few hours ago and Zach found her sitting in the window seat in Will's room. He sat the sandwich Myrtle had made for her on the changing table and walked over to her. He stood behind her and caught her eyes in the window.

"It's like they aren't even trying, Zach."

"Kendall, Derek has all of his men on this. Tad and Aiden are running down leads. Jackson has called every DA he knows on the eastern seaboard to give them a heads up. Erica is going to make a plea live on her show tomorrow. We just need to…"

She shot off the seat and stood in front of him. "We need to what, be patient? Wait? This is YOUR fault" she screamed, poking him in the chest.

He grabbed her wrist. "And how exactly is this my fault, Kendall?"

"I told you I didn't want to hire a nanny. I told you that we just needed to work it out so that one of us could be with him, but NO – you convinced me that we needed a nanny, that we just had to have someone else taking care of Will. Well, we did and NOW look what happened."

"Kendall, you need to stop right now. We are both worried, everyone in this family is worried, but you can't…"

"I'M HIS MOTHER!"

"AND I'M HIS FATHER!"

"YOU AREN'T HIS FATHER!" Those four words sent him reeling. He dropped her wrist and took a couple of steps back, staring at her. She was breathing hard and he saw a look in her eyes that he had never seen before. Those four words cut through his heart, broke it more than it had already been broken over the last 24 hours. Without a word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him

Zach bounded down the steps with no regard to anyone else in the house. "Zach?" Jackson said, coming out of the kitchen. Zach grabbed his keys off the table in the entryway and threw open the front door. Simone and Ethan had been sitting on the couch, watching the news, when Zach stormed out of the house. "Go" Ethan whispered to Simone. Simone took the steps two at a time as Ethan chased after Zach.

Zach was to his car by the time Ethan caught up with him. "Zach, where are you going? What happened?"

Zach looked up at Ethan. "I just… she doesn't want me… I'll be at the casino; Simone knows how to get me." Ethan didn't have a chance to get another word out – Zach got in the car and peeled out of the driveway. Ethan turned and saw Jackson and Reggie standing on the porch. Dejected, Ethan walked back up the steps. "What happened?" Reggie asked. "I have no idea" Ethan responded, staring at the spot where Zach's car had been.

* * *

Simone threw open the door to Will's room as she heard Zach's tires peel out of the driveway and head down the street. She found Kendall curled up against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. Simone was next to her friend in a heartbeat.

"Kendall, what happened?" Simone asked as she slid down the wall next to Kendall. Kendall leaned over and wrapped her arms around Simone, sobbing on her shoulder. Simone held onto her friend as tight as she could, trying to get the story out of her, but all Kendall kept repeating between sobs was "I messed up. What did I do? I screwed it all up." They stayed like that until Kendall finally cried herself to sleep.

TBC……


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Welcome to the next chapter - disclaimers in chapter 1!

* * *

Zach groaned as he felt something poking his shoulder. He cracked his eyes open to see Edie standing over him. He pushed himself into a sitting position on the couch and dropped his head into his hands.

She just looked at him. "So, we're back to this again?

He glared up at her. "I'm not in the mood this morning, Edie."

She looked down at him and nodded. "I know… I'm sorry. Look, I've got you some food and a clean suit up in your suite, but I think you should go home and…"

"NO!" he roared as he got off the couch. Edie's eyes went wide as she stared at him. "Look, Kendall… she just… she made it clear that she really doesn't want me around right now and I'm going to respect her wishes. Thanks for the food and the suit. I'm going to go up and take a shower and try to eat something." He started toward his office door before turning around. "Has there been any news?"

Edie smiled sadly and shook her head no. "But, we're staying on top of it, so if there is…"

"Thanks" he whispered as he walked out of his office and toward the elevator.

* * *

"BIANCA!" Bianca whirled around to see Jackson running toward her. She dropped her bag and let him gather her up into a bear hug. They stood like that for some time before Jackson finally let her go.

"How are Zach and Kendall?" Bianca asked as she gathered up her things and they headed toward baggage claim. Jackson sighed loudly. "What?" Bianca asked, giving him a confused look.

"It's just… no one's real sure what happened…"

"What?" Bianca asked again.

"Something happened last night. Kendall and Zach must have had a fight or something… he just bolted out of the house and Simone found Kendall crying hysterically, but no one has been able to get anything out of her – it's like she's just reverted into herself. She's not said a word to anyone since last night… maybe you can…"

"I'll try" Bianca whispered, wondering what really happened between those two last night. Jackson smiled down at his niece and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked toward his car.

On the other side of the airport, Greenlee sprinted off her plane and toward the taxi stand. Carla has left her a message on her cell while she was flying – Ryan had called and said that "they" were going to come by and see her tomorrow at the office. She knew she was working against the clock.

* * *

Greenlee plopped down into a corner booth at BJ's and sighed in frustration. She had called Reggie on his cell and let him know what was going on, to an extent. Reggie told her about the fight and how Kendall seemed catatonic right now. Greenlee knew that Kendall wasn't going to be able to help, so she had the cab take her to the casino. That was a bust as well. The response she kept getting from casino staff was "I'm sorry, but Mr. Slater isn't taking any appointments today". Greenlee was about to head off to see Derek at the police station, but she really feared what Ryan would to do Will if she did call the police – that's why she had yet to do it. She pulled out her cell to see if Derek was available when the answer to her problem walked in the door.

Greenlee shot out of her chair and walked over to the take out counter. She took a deep breath before tapping her on the shoulder. Bianca whirled around and gasped when she saw who was standing behind her.

"Greenlee? Greenlee, what in the world are you doing here?

Greenlee grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the booth. "I need to talk to you… or, I need your help getting in to see Zach and…"

"Look, Greenlee, now isn't a good time and…"

Greenlee took another breath before continuing. "I know who's got Will." Bianca's eyes went wide and she collapsed into the booth opposite Greenlee. Greenlee sat down and looked at her. "What are you talking about?" Bianca whispered.

Greenlee sighed before she launched into her story. As she continued, Bianca's eyes got wider and wider and Greenlee could see the anger starting to build. "… so I came here to see if…" Greenlee couldn't even finish her sentence before Bianca grabbed her arm.

"We need to go see Zach. NOW!" Greenlee nodded and grabbed her purse and followed Bianca out of the restaurant and into her waiting car.

* * *

"EDIE!" Edie turned around to see Bianca Montgomery and friend running toward her in a dead sprint. "Edie, we need to see Zach. Where is he?"

"He's up in his office, pretending to work, but I don't think he wants to be…" Bianca and friend were gone before she could finish her sentence. Edie just shrugged and went back to her job.

* * *

Zach's office door flew open and he about fell out of his chair when Bianca and Greenlee busted through.

"Zach… Greenlee, sit down. Zach, you need to hear…"

"Bianca, look, I'm sure whatever Kendall told you this morning…"

"SHUT UP!" He was shocked – Bianca hardly ever yelled. He straightened up in his chair and looked at Greenlee. "What are you doing here?" he growled out. Bianca sat in the chair next to Greenlee, across from Zach and nudged her. "Tell him."

"Tell me what?" he asked, glaring at the woman across from him.

"Zach, I know I'm the last person you want to see, but… I know who's got Will. It's Ryan."

Hatred flooded his eyes – Bianca and Greenlee could both see it immediately. "Lavery has my son. Why? He didn't care about Will when he left so…"

Greenlee sighed and looked down at her hands. "It's me, Zach. He took Will for me."

Bianca could see the anger building insider her brother-in-law. "Zach, you need to hear her out."

Zach looked at Bianca and nodded in agreement and leaned back in his chair, staring at Greenlee. "Go on" he said, gesturing at her.

She took a deep breath and looked up at Zach. "Well, it was about 2 months ago…"

* * *

_Greenlee and her boyfriend, Martin Edwards, were just leaving a restaurant. They had only been dating for a few weeks, but she could feel that she could trust him more than she had been able to trust anyone for a long time. He gave her a peck on the cheek and headed off to get the car, as it was starting to rain. Greenlee stood under the awning, smiling at nothing in particular, when she heard her name from behind her. That voice made her stand up straight. She turned around slowly and found herself face to face with Ryan Lavery._

"_Ryan?"_

"_Who the hell was that?" he growled, glaring off in the direction Martin had just gone. She could see the anger inside of him and she could tell that something had snapped – that he wasn't the same Ryan he was before she left. She squared her shoulders, readying for a fight._

"_His name is Martin. We've been dating for…"_

"_SLUT!" he screamed at her. "You're a married woman, you cheating little…"_

"_We aren't married anymore, Ryan. The papers should be waiting for you at the penthouse if you haven't…" She stopped as he pulled the papers out of his back pocket and pulled a lighter out of his front pocket. Her eyes went wide as he lit them on fire. He smiled wickedly as the divorce papers burned in his fingers. As they shrank to ashes, he dropped them on the ground and walked over toward her. She was frozen in her spot. He grabbed her shoulders roughly and pulled her flush to his body. _

"_This isn't over, Greenlee" he whispered harshly in her ear. She was shaking in fear now and she prayed that Martin came soon. "This is you and me, Greens… forever. It's our family, it's our life, and it's our marriage. And I'm going to win you back, prove to you that you need me, want me in your life. You still love me, Mrs. Lavery, you know you do. I'll show you that…"_

"_Greenlee?" Greenlee sent up a quick prayer at the sound of Martin's voice. Ryan quickly let go of her arms and glared at Martin. Martin quickly walked up and stood between Greenlee and Ryan. _

"_You need to leave Ryan. Leave me alone. I don't love you anymore."_

"_LYING BITCH!" he screamed at her. Martin quickly pushed Ryan back a few steps and into a wall._

"_OK, I don't know who you are, but you don't ever talk to a woman like that. You leave Greenlee alone or so help me God, I will unleash the fury that I can and…"_

_Ryan scoffed at this man, the man he only saw as a hurdle he needed to jump over. "And you are?"_

"_Martin Edwards, ADA for Chatham County and believe me when I tell you that…"_

_Ryan shoved Martin away and looked at Greenlee. "See you around, Greens" he said, smirking as he walked away. _

_Martin got up and pulled Greenlee into him. "Who was that?" he said, looking at her. She sighed and leaned into him. "Take me home. I'll tell you there." He nodded and helped her into his car._

_It was a week and a half later before she saw him again. She ducked into the deli across the street from her office to grab a sandwich and saw him working behind the counter. He glanced up and grinned an evil grin at her and she quickly went back and locked herself in her office. He seemed to appear out of nowhere when she was out and it was starting to worry her, but it wasn't until her phone rang that night three weeks ago that she truly became scared._

"_Hello."_

"_Good evening Greenlee. Did you enjoy your pizza?" Just his voice alone made her stomach drop. "Ryan? Ryan, how the hell did you get this number?"_

_He seemed to ignore that question. "You know, I'm surprised you got a pizza tonight. You always liked to order Chinese in on these stormy nights, but I must say I wasn't at all happy with the way that delivery kid was ogling you when you answered the door. But, I can't say that I could blame him – you really do look quite sexy in that red tank top and shorts." She gasped and whirled around. 'He's watching'. She looked out her window._

"_Don't look so concerned, Greenlee. I'm just protecting my interests."_

_She thought she was going to throw up, but she did her best to put up a steel front, knowing that he could see her. "I'm not your interest anymore. My lawyer resent the divorce papers to Livia – you know, to ensure that there are no more 'mishaps' with those documents."_

_Ryan laughed and it sent chills up her spine. "Oh Greens, you know that the divorce isn't going to happen. You don't want it anymore than I do. Besides, I'm going to make everything right."_

_That last statement made her blood run cold. "What do you mean?" she whispered into the phone._

"_It's a surprise. I know how much you like surprises. Just know that I'm going to make things how they should be and we are going to have our family back. I'm going to be out of reach for a few weeks, but, I'll be back and then… well, then things will be right and we'll be together. Just know that I love you and that's not going to change. Sleep tight and I'll talk to you soon." _

_She heard the phone disconnect and she started to shake. She immediately called Martin and told him she was coming over. She quickly packed as much as she could and bolted her apartment._

* * *

"And I haven't been back since. Martin forwarded all my calls to his cell so he could monitor things, but we heard nothing… well, until yesterday. Zach, Ryan called me at the office and I heard… I heard Will in the background. And then, Carla, my assistant, left me a message while I was flying – he told her to tell me that he was going to be back tomorrow with my 'surprise'. Zach, I'm so sorry – if I had thought for a minute that this is what he meant by fixing things, I would have called immediately and…" Greenlee got choked up and the tears she had managed to keep at bay for the last 18 hours started to fall. Bianca reached over and held her hand while she cried.

Zach stood up and took a deep breath as he ran his hand through his hair. He grabbed the phone off the receiver and punched in a couple of numbers. "Ed, yeah, it's Slater. I need the plane ready in 10 minutes… Savannah… yeah, see you in 10." He dropped the phone back in the receiver and grabbed a small black bag out of the bottom drawer of his desk.

"Greenlee, we need to go. We have to beat him back and make sure that he doesn't…" Zach couldn't even get the words out. Greenlee looked up at him with shame and fear in her eyes. "Greenlee, I don't blame you. None of this is your fault, but can I just say… I told you so just don't quite cut it right now." Greenlee just nodded and got up out of her chair. Zach walked around the desk and started to head for the door when Bianca grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my… I'm going to get Will back. Let's go, Greenlee. Bianca, go back to the house and tell Jackson that…"

"Oh, hell no. I'm going with you."

Zach whipped around and glared at her. "No, you're really not. Go back to the house."

Bianca crossed her arms over her chest. "No, he's my nephew and you are going to need some help what with the rescue and the distraction of Ryan and what-not. I'm going. I'll call Jackson and let him know what's going on, but to not get anyone's hopes up until we get Will back."

Zach could see the resolve in her eyes. "Bianca, I appreciate this, but you've got to think of Miranda. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you."

Bianca smiled at him. "Well, then, you better make sure I come back in one piece then." Zach knew he was beat in that moment. "Fine, but you do what I say and go where I tell you and…"

Bianca grabbed her jacket and purse off the desk. "Zach, I'm a Kane. When has that line ever worked on a Kane woman before? C'mon, we need to go get Will." Zach ran his hands through his hair again and quickly followed Bianca and Greenlee to the elevators.

TBC….


	6. Chapter 6

**Peace out Lavery. Seriously, if you are a Ryan fan reading this, you may want to just stop. Since I am NOT a Ryan fan, I chose to write it like this! Enjoy if this is your cup of tea! Disclaimers in chapter 1.**

* * *

Kendall appeared in the kitchen. She watched Erica, Jackson, and Reggie for a moment before clearing her throat. Erica shot out of her chair and was immediately next to her daughter, her arm around her shoulder. 

"Darling, how are you? Do you want something to eat?"

"No, mother… has Zach called?"

Erica looked over at Jackson, who was smiling sadly at Kendall. "No, Kendall, he hasn't. I'm sorry." Kendall smiled back at Jackson and walked out of the kitchen. Erica returned to the table and leaned into Jackson. "We really need to tell her."

"Erica, Bianca said not too. She doesn't want to get Kendall's hopes up or to have her racing off to deal with an unhinged Ryan Lavery. Bianca said she would call as soon as she could."

Kendall stood in the living room, looking out the window. She glanced over at the mantle and stared at their wedding picture. With tears in her eyes, she walked over and picked up the shot of her and Zach. She picked it up and ran her fingers over his face, remembering how he had looked that day, how much love was on his face during the ceremony, and how happy they had been. She hugged the picture to her chest and pulled it back out to look at it again. "Zach, I'm so sorry. You are his father and I love you so much" she whispered to the picture. She sighed and placed the picture back in its original spot. "I just hope I can say those words to him soon instead of to his picture" she said to herself as she curled up on the couch.

* * *

It was late. Zach, Bianca and Greenlee had immediately holed up in Martin's apartment upon their arrival in Savannah. Zach had made some calls from the plane and by the time they landed, a PI was trailing Ryan. He confirmed that Ryan did have Will and that he seemed to be casing Greenlee's office. 

By 12:30 that night, Greenlee had finally fallen asleep. Martin and Zach had done a lot of planning and Martin called in some favors so that they would have their backs covered tomorrow. Zach was sitting in a chair, sipping a beer and looking out the window. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Bianca's face.

"You should be asleep. It's late."

She pulled a chair up next to him. "I'm still on Paris time. I just got off the phone with Maggie and Miranda, who says hi, by the way."

"I'm going to get you back to her, Bianca."

"I know you are Zach. I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about you and my sister."

Zach groaned and dropped his head, hoping that Bianca would just drop it, but she didn't. "Zach, what happened the other night?"

"Nothing" he growled out, draining his beer.

"Yeah, so much of a nothing that you are staying at the casino instead of being with your wife. Yeah, seems like nothing to me."

"She doesn't want me there."

"Right" Bianca scoffed at him.

"She doesn't. She made that very clear the other night."

"She said that?"

"No, but…"

"Well, Zach, unless she said 'get out and don't come back' I don't see…"

"She told me that I wasn't Will's father."

Bianca was shocked and she could only stare at Zach. Bianca couldn't wrap her mind around those words. Since day one, Zach had been the only father Will had ever known and that is the only way Kendall wanted it. They shared several conversations just about Zach and how good a father he had turned into. "I don't believe it."

He glared over at her. "Well, believe whatever you want Bianca, but that's what she said and she damn well sounded like she meant it."

"I'm sure she didn't. Zach, she's been under a lot of stress and she is super worried about Will and…"

"AND I'M NOT!" he yelled at her, shooting out of his chair and pacing around the room. "That kid is my life. Kendall is my life – they both are my life. They mean more to me than anything – and I mean anything. I would give up the money, the casino, my life to ensure that they are taken care of and happy and healthy. I love my family more than anything in the whole world and the fact that she could question that… question me… question my love for Will… it's too much." He collapsed back in his chair and hung his head in his hands.

"Zach, do you still love her?"

"With all my heart. Nothing she can say to me is ever going to change the fact that I love her more than anything else in the world, but…"

"I know – sometimes people say things that can't be forgiven, but Zach, you love her. That hasn't changed and I know she still loves you. You two have survived so much, you can totally survive this. You just need to…"

"Bianca, I can't think about this now. I mean, you're right, but I can't… I've got to concentrate on Will first and then everything else can be dealt with after we have him back on that plane to Pine Valley."

Bianca leaned back in her chair and stared at Zach. He looked over at her and she nodded. She knew he was right and she would have plenty of time to deal with him on the plane tomorrow. She sighed and got up. "Don't stay up too late, Zach. Will's going to need to be well-rested tomorrow." Zach nodded and returned to staring out the window as Bianca headed toward the spare bedroom.

* * *

Carla was doing her best to keep her fears in the back of her head, but he was scaring her to death and the gun wasn't helping things at all – neither was the scared looking little boy on his hip, but she knew she needed to stay calm. 

"Where the hell is she?" he screamed at her again.

"Mr. Lavery, Ms. Smythe usually doesn't come in till…"

"THAT'S NOT HER NAME!" he screamed back at her. "Her name is Greenlee Lavery."

Carla took a deep breath and counted to 10. Greenlee had filled her in last night and she knew what was going to go down, but that didn't make her any less scared.

"I'm sorry, you're right, but she usually gets her at about 9:30 or so and…"

"You told her I was coming, right?"

"Yes, sir, I did and she said that she would get here as soon as she could this morning, but…" and suddenly, there was a gun in her face. "I think you need to call her right now and tell her to get her ass down here now."

"No need, Ryan, I'm right here." Ryan whirled around and saw Greenlee standing there.

Greenlee thanked God that Martin had the undercover agents clear the office this morning – she feared what he would do with a room full of people.

Ryan nudged Will with his nose against his cheek. "Look who it is, son – mommy." Greenlee could see the confusion on Will's face as he stared at her. "I told you I was bringing you a surprise."

Greenlee did her best to plaster a fake smile on her face. "Can I hold him?" Ryan nodded and moved toward Greenlee. He was about to hand Will off to her when Will looked back over Ryan's shoulder and yelled "DA" in his ear. Ryan froze as Greenlee's eyes got wide. "What did you do" he growled out at her. Greenlee took a step back as Ryan whirled around and came face to face with Zach Slater. Ryan smirked and raised his gun directly at Zach's chest as Greenlee took off across the room.

"What do you think you are doing here, Slater?"

Zach straightened up and held his hands over his head. "I just came to talk, Ryan."

"About what? You aren't supposed to be here."

"Ryan, fine, I'll go as soon as we talk, but could you put my son…"

"HE'S NOT YOUR SON, ASSHOLE!" Hearing those words for a second time in as many days cut through his heart again, but he had to keep his composure. Zach wanted nothing more than to wring Ryan's neck with his bare hands, but there was Will to consider.

"I'm sorry, you're right" he choked out. "OK, but could you put the gun away…"

"Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you – give you the upper hand. No way!"

"Ok, then could you at least put Will down so something doesn't accidentally happen." Ryan looked down at the boy on his hip and how close he was to the gun. Zach could see that there was some real concern on Ryan's face for Will in this moment. Without taking his eyes off Zach, Ryan took a step back and put Will on the floor. "You be a good boy while Daddy talks to this man and then me and you and mommy are going to go" he said, patting Will on the head. That action alone made Zach want to rip every appendage from his body.

Ryan stood back up and trained the gun back on Zach. "You've got 5 minutes, Slater, before I do the world a favor and get rid of another Cambias."

Zach started to talk to Ryan as Greenlee joined Bianca behind one of the cubicle walls. Their plan had been shot to hell because Will had been excited to see Zach. "Now what?" Greenlee whispered to Bianca. Bianca closed her eyes for a moment and Greenlee could tell she was thinking. Bianca opened her eyes and peeked around the corner. Down at the end of the aisle, she could see Will sitting on the floor, staring up at the two men in front of him. Bianca pulled her head back before Will had a chance to see her and took a deep breath. "I'm going to get him" she whispered to Greenlee. Bianca got on all fours, but felt Greenlee pull on her leg. She whipped her head around to see Greenlee glaring at her.

"You are doing what?" she whispered harshly to Bianca.

"I'm going to get him. I know a trick and I think I can get him to crawl over to me with Ryan noticing as long as Zach keeps him distracted."

"Bianca, no. You've got a daughter and…"

"Zach promised me last night that I would get back to her and I believe him. Zach doesn't break promises. I'm going." And with that, Bianca started to crawl toward her nephew. Greenlee swore under her breath and followed Bianca on all fours. "Not alone your not" she whispered back. "Whatever" Bianca responded as she kept crawling.

They got as close as they could to Will without being detected. Bianca pulled her knees underneath her body as Greenlee did the same. Bianca looked over at Greenlee and put her finger against her lips, telling Greenlee not to talk. Bianca took a deep breath and turned her attention back to Will. She started to wave in his direction to get his attention. Soon, he looked over at her and opened his mouth to say something, but Bianca quickly put her forefinger back over her lips to shush him.

It was something that Zach and her joked about. Whenever Kendall would start to yell and complain about something, Zach would look down at his son and put his finger over his mouth – it was their signal, as Zach like to call it, to be quiet until mommy was finished yelling. Kendall didn't find it near as amusing as she and Zach did, but she was never more thankful for the signal than she was right now.

Will immediately shut his mouth and smiled at his aunt. She smiled back at him and held her arms out to him, waving him to crawl toward her. Will was very smart for his age and he immediately headed for his aunt.

Zach saw Will start to move toward the cubicles and looked at Ryan. Zach could tell that the rage had all consumed Ryan at this point. He was screaming and flailing the gun around. All Zach could do was stand there and pretend to listen. Zach felt his heart jump into his throat when Will disappeared behind the first partition. Zach glanced toward the back of the room and saw Martin and one of the agents moving toward the end of the aisle and he sent up a prayer that Bianca and Greenlee had gotten him out of harm's way. Zach returned his attention to Ryan.

"… so you, Slater, you lose, ok. I win and you lose. I get to have my happy life with my beautiful wife and son, just like it was supposed to be before you and that whore Kendall decided to play God with my life. But, that's all over now. All is right with the world. Anything you want to say before I rid the world of another Cambias?" Ryan pointed the gun at Zach's head. Zach took a deep breath and opened his mouth to start to talk when they both heard "DA! DA NOW!" from the back of the room.

Ryan whirled around and pointed his gun at Bianca and Will against the back wall. "YOU ALL ARE SO STUPID. YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN OUTSMART ME!" he screamed as Bianca did her best to shield Will from Ryan. Zach watched at Ryan pulled the hammer back on the gun and pointed it directly at Bianca. "Well, you are all going to learn" he said as he took aim. Greenlee jumped in front of Bianca and Will as shots were fired and they all fell to the ground.

* * *

Greenlee slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a minute before she flipped over and stared at Bianca and a crying Will, who was lying on top of Bianca. 

"Bianca? Oh my god, Bianca…"

Bianca groaned and opened her eyes. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm going to have a bump." Greenlee just started to laugh as they both tended to Will. After seeing that he was fine, they looked at each other. "But, I thought I heard…"

"Zach!" Bianca whispered. They both shot up off the floor and saw Zach, standing there, arm outstretched, staring down at the ground. Greenlee headed toward Zach as Bianca hung back with Will. When she reached the end of the aisle, she gasped.

There was Ryan, on the floor, as a couple of the undercover agents were checking his pulse. "He's dead" the one cop said to the other.

"Make sure. He's got a habit of not staying dead" Zach whispered, gun still trained at Ryan's head, waiting for movement.

Martin came up next to Zach and lowered his arm. "He's dead, Zach, really. You saved Bianca and Will. He was going to…" Just hearing his son's name snapped him out of his daze. His head shot up and looked at the back of the room to where Bianca and Will were standing. He dropped the gun and sprinted back to her. "Is he…"

"He's fine" she said as Will held out his arms to Zach. Zach immediately took Will from Bianca. Will wrapped his arms around Zach's neck and all the emotions that Zach had been bottling up since that night with Kendall came out. Zach started to cry and slid down the wall he had been leaning against. Will curled up in his lap and smiled up at him. "Hi Da" he said, pulling at the lapels on Zach's jacket. Zach pulled Will into his chest. "Hey little man. I missed you." Will put his head on Zach's shoulder as all of Zach's emotions came to the surface. They stayed like that while the police worked the scene and removed Ryan's body. Once it had all been cleaned up and all the statements had been taken, Bianca came back over to Zach and Will. Will had fallen asleep and Zach was just staring at him.

Bianca crouched down next to him. "Zach, we need to go. I need to call Uncle Jack and let him know before this all breaks nationwide and we need to get him home." Zach just nodded and pulled himself up off the floor. Zach kissed the top of Will's head as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Jackson snapped his cell phone shut and turned around, smiling brightly at Erica, Reggie and Myrtle. "It's over. Zach and Bianca have Will and are on the plane right now. Zach… he saved Bianca and Will's life. Ryan was going to shoot them but Zach… well, Ryan's dead. It's over." Erica and Myrtle hugged each other and Reggie collapsed into his chair. Jackson let them rejoice as he headed upstairs. 

He took a deep breath before he knocked on the master bedroom door. "Come in" he heard from inside. He opened the door to see Kendall curled up on the bed in one of Zach's suit jackets, holding the bear Beverly gave Will for his birthday. Jackson shut the door and flipped on the TV. "Kendall, Bianca just called. I have some good news…"

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimers in chapter 1_**

* * *

Bianca kept glancing over at Zach and Will as she wound her way through Pine Valley from the airport to their house. Zach hadn't taken his eyes off of Will since she handed him over in Greenlee's office. The cops at the scene, along with Martin, all stated for the record that Zach had acted in defense of Bianca and Will, so the DA let him leave town without much of a problem. Bianca could tell that Zach was getting tired – she was sure he didn't sleep much last night. When she offered to take Will on the plane, he merely just shook his head and stretched out on one of the couches with him. Zach held him while he ate and let him curl up on his lap to fall asleep.

The police waved Bianca through the barricade separating the press from the house and she could tell Zach was getting tense as they rounded the corner and the house came into view. As Bianca pulled into the driveway, Jackson threw open the front door and stood there, smiling at them. Bianca killed the ignition and pulled the key out. "You ready?" she asked. He nodded and opened the door with his free hand.

They were halfway up the front walk when Zach froze. Bianca took a few steps and realized she was walking alone. She looked back at him. "Zach?"

"I… I can't. Take Will into Kendall. I… I need to go."

Bianca walked back to him. "Zach…"

He closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them, they were bright with fear and hurt. "Bianca, the last thing I want to do is let this little guy out of my arms but… I just need to go. Please."

She understood. She knew he was hurt – hearing Ryan reiterate what Kendall had said to him earlier hurt him more than she realized. She nodded and took Will from Zach. He turned to walk away when she called out for him. He turned back to see her holding the keys out to him. "Take my rental. I'll have Uncle Jack or Mom bring me to the casino tomorrow to get it." Zach nodded and grabbed the keys from her. She smiled and turned back to head into the house. Zach watched until she disappeared inside with Jackson before he headed back to the car. He opened the door, but slammed it back, cursing under his breath and leaned against the car, putting his head down on the roof in his arms.

* * *

"Look who's here" Bianca said, rounding the corner into the kitchen. Kendall shot out of her chair and grabbed Will from her sister.

"Oh my god. Will. Oh my god" she cried over and over again, hugging Will as tightly as she could. Will wrapped his arms around her neck. "Mom!" he cried loudly, laughing. Kendall pulled back and laughed through her tears at the goofy smile her son was giving her. "God, Binks… he's… he's fine."

Bianca just nodded. "Yeah, seems Ryan did take care of him for the most part. He was starving on the plane so me and Za… we fed him and he ate like a champ and then he promptly fell asleep."

Kendall smiled at her sister and walked out of the kitchen. "Zach?" she said, expecting him to be sitting in the living room, waiting for her. Her smile faded when he wasn't there. Bianca came out of the kitchen and leaned against the entryway of the living. Kendall whirled around and looked at her sister.

"Where's Zach?"

Bianca sighed. "Kendall, he… well, it's just that… he said he had to go, that he couldn't stay."

Her eyes filled with tears immediately. "Because of…"

Bianca nodded. "Yeah. It didn't help that Ryan used the same exact words this morning when Zach was trying to talk to Ryan, but…"

Kendall walked over to the window and looked out. There, she saw her husband, hurt and dejected and feeling alone, leaning against Bianca's rental car with his head down. "DA!" Will cried, pointing out the window. Kendall looked down at her son. He looked up at her and all she saw was Zach's son. The smirk that she was convinced Will had displayed on his face, the twinkle in his eye, the way he was cocking his head, looking out the window. This child in her arms was Zach's and suddenly, she felt sick.

She watched as he pushed himself up off of the car and sigh before opening the door to get in the car. "Da?" Will asked, looking up at her. "Yeah" she responded, running from the window. Bianca was waiting for Kendall to hand Will off to her, and that she did before throwing open the front door and sprinting down the steps.

Zach sighed and pushed himself off the car, willing himself to get in and drive back to the casino when he heard "ZACH" from across the yard. He looked up to see Kendall running toward him and he thought she looked beautiful. He rounded the car as Kendall launched herself at him.

She couldn't get close enough to him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and sighed as he wrapped one arm around her waist and threaded one through her hair. He pressed a light kiss on her temple as she cried on his shoulder and held her as tightly as he could while her tears fell.

When her tears subsided, she pulled her head off his shoulder. He loosened his grip on her waist and pulled his hand out of her hair, running it over the top of her head before dropping it to her hip.

She smiled up at him. "You saved our son." Zach closed his eyes when she said that. "Come inside. Myrtle is making food and Simone is mixing…"

"I can't" he said, opening his eyes and looking at her.

Her heart broke, but she knew it was her fault. "Zach, about the other night. I was such a fool. You have to know that I didn't mean anything I said. I needed to vent and you were there. They were just words and…"

"They weren't just words, Kendall, not to me."

"Zach, please. I'm so sorry."

"I know you are. I know you are being genuine now and I'm sure you didn't mean what you said, but the fact is that you said those words and broke my heart in the process." The tears started falling down her face again and he wiped them away.

"You don't love me anymore?" she whispered to him.

"I love you and that little guy inside more than anything else in this world. I would give up my life for the two of you. Don't ever question that, Kendall, ever. But… I just… I need some time."

Kendall nodded, knowing she needed to respect him. He kissed her forehead and wiped her tears away before letting her go. Kendall stayed frozen to her spot as Zach rounded the car. He opened the door and looked back up at her.

"I love you Mr. Slater" she yelled to him.

He smiled sadly at her. "I love you too, Mrs. Slater. You call me if you need anything – diapers, food, someone to talk to – I don't care what time it is." She nodded and the tears came faster as he got back in the car. He pulled out of the driveway and looked back at her one more time before driving off into the night.

Kendall felt a presence next to her and looked over to see Bianca and Will next to her. She took Will from Bianca and looked back to where Zach had been. "You want your daddy back, Will?" Kendall asked her son. "Daddy back!" he yelled. "Ok, then. Well, I've got some work to do." Bianca smiled at her sister and put her arm around her shoulder as they walked back into the house.

* * *

Zach was staring at the ceiling, laying in bed in the dark. He finally made himself try to sleep at 2 am, but he had laid here for 45 minutes, staring at the ceiling. He flipped over on his stomach to try to get comfortable when his cell phone buzzed. He grabbed it off the side table and flipped it open. "Slater."

"He's sleeping like nothing happened."

He propped his head up on his hand, staring out the window. "Kendall, it's late. What are you doing up?"

"Well, I had put him down in his room but… I just… so I moved him to our room about an hour ago and I've just been watching him sleep."

Zach sighed. "I did that on the plane. I wouldn't let him out of my arms the whole time."

"But he's fine, right?"

"Kendall, he's perfect. Now, you really need…" He could hear her quiet sobs on the other end of the line. "Kendall, please, don't…"

"Zach, I just wanted to say…"

"Kendall, not tonight. It's late and we are both exhausted. You really need to get some sleep since I'd imagine everyone in town is going to stop by to see him tomorrow."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Going to stop by to see him tomorrow."

"I don't know – I've got some stuff to catch up on here and…"

"I could bring him to you and we could…"

"Not tomorrow, Kendall."

Kendall wiped her eyes and sighed. "Ok. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed. I just… I guess I just wanted to hear your voice before I fell asleep."

He flipped on his back and threw his arm over his eyes. "Get some sleep, Kendall and give Will a kiss for me. I'll talk to you soon."

"Ok, Zach, I… just… ok, good night."

"Night." He flipped the phone shut and dropped it back on the table. He flipped over on his side, away from the window and willed himself to fall asleep.

* * *

It had been four of the longest days of Zach's life – four days since he had left Will and Kendall at the house. Five days since she spit those words out at him. He knew he was driving everyone at the casino crazy, but he knew he had to throw himself into work to keep from running right over there, but he couldn't forget what she had said. He didn't want to leave his family, but he was hurt, so he knew he needed to stay away.

Beverly had brought Will by yesterday and the day before for lunch and he was waiting for them again when Tad showed up in his door.

"Well, as much as I hate to admit this, it appears that Ryan Lavery was completely off his rocker" Tad said, dropping into one of Zach's visitor chairs and holding out a file for him. Zach grabbed it and started to read.

"Hit the highlight for me, Tad."

"Well, I guess after he found out Greenlee was dating this Martin Edwards, he lost it. Started stalking her, calling her at all hours – at home, at the office, on her cell when she was out with Martin. He was living two blocks from her apartment – my source told me they found every news clipping about you and Kendall and Will and when Greenlee started her job, her first public appearance with the up and coming ADA, etc, etc, etc. He had been planning this for some time. I talked with a girl in North Carolina who knew him from before he went to Savannah and then after he took Will. She said it was like night and day – before he was just a sad man but after, she said that he seemed like a man possessed – that all he talked about was his "family" and "regaining what was rightfully his"."

"He did this alone?"

"Seems like it. I talked to Erin two days ago and she said that neither she nor Jonathan had heard from Ryan since he left Pine Valley."

Zach closed the file and set it down on his desk. "Well, I guess that's it then."

"What?" Zach and Tad both turned their attention to Kendall, standing in the door with Will on her hip. Tad turned back to Zach and waited for him to answer.

"Tad was looking into Ryan for me, just to make sure that… well, it seems he did this by himself and that he didn't tell anyone what he was planning."

"Oh." She looked at Tad. "Thanks. That puts my mind at ease."

"My pleasure" Tad said, pushing himself out of his chair and walking over to Kendall. "Glad to see his picture perfect" he said, rubbing the top of Will's head. He shot a glance back over to Zach. "If you need anything else, just call."

"I will" Zach responded, looking down at his desk, at Tad, out the window, anywhere but at Kendall. Tad smiled at Kendall and quickly made his exit.

"Can I…"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Come on in" Zach said, coming around his desk to help Kendall. He took her bag and set it down on the couch. He ran his hand through his hair and turned back toward her. "What are… I mean, I was expecting Beverly to…"

"Oh, yeah. She needed to run to campus for something, so I said that I would bring him and she is going to pick him up when she's done. Is this… I mean… God, this is awkward, isn't it?" she said, laughing nervously.

He sighed and smiled at her. "Sit." She returned his smile and sat on the couch and he pulled a chair up next to the couch.

"DAD!" Will screamed, holding his arms out to Zach. Zach took him from Kendall and Will made himself comfortable in Zach's lap. "Hungry" Will said, making both of them laugh.

"I assume you want chicken fingers and fries."

"YEAH!" he said, smiling widely. Zach smiled back and Kendall just watched, noticing how their smiles resembled each other. Zach got out of the chair and walked over to the phone before looking back at her. "Do you want to join us?"

Kendall shot up off the couch and smoothed her dress out. "Oh, no, I really need to…"

"Oh, ok then." She could see the disappointment in his eyes as he turned away from her and ordered their lunch. She started to head out. She reached the door and whirled back around just as Zach hung up the phone.

"Kendall, are you sure that you don't want…"

"Will you come over for dinner tonight?" She said it really fast, fearing she would lose her nerve if she didn't. She watched him as the question washed over him and a wisp of a smile appeared on his face.

"What?"

She sighed and leaned against the door. "You're going to make me repeat it, aren't you?"

Zach just smirked and nodded. "Fine. I was thinking that you could come over for dinner tonight – just me and you and Will and we could…"

"I would love to" he said, quickly, loving the smile that instantly appeared on her face.

"Well, ok then. So, like 6 or so?"

"I'll be there." They stood there, smiling at each other like they were teenagers that had just arranged for their first date. It was the buzzing of Kendall's cell phone that snapped them both out of their trance. She grabbed it out of her purse. Zach just stood there, watching her lips moved while she talked, the way she gently held the phone to her ear, the way she shifted her weight from one leg to the other – he found her completely irresistible and unbelievably sexy in that moment and for the first time in almost a week, he felt like his heart was starting to mend itself.

"Zach?"

"Oh what… yeah… what?"

Kendall just smirked at him. "I said Beverly will be here in about an hour. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine. He's got some new toys to try out anyway."

"TOYS!" Will exclaimed as he started to look around the room.

"Well, I better…" Kendall quickly moved as their lunch was being pushed into the room. "OK, well… bye Will. Have fun!"

"Bye mom!" he said, waving at her as Zach pulled out the high chair to put him in. She watched as Zach put him in the chair, noticing the ease and grace he had moving around the room with a child on his hip and she knew she had to fix this tonight. "I'll see you at 6?" she asked again.

He looked at her from across the room and smiled. "On the dot." She smiled on last time and headed for the elevator. As she stepped into the elevator, she smiled to herself. She was starting to feel whole again for the first time in almost a week.

TBC….


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer in chapter 1**_

* * *

He stood in front of the door, unsure of what to do. Yeah, he could walk right in – it was his home after all, but after everything they had been through over the last week, he wasn't sure if that would be appropriate. Ringing the door bell seemed a little silly, so he took a deep breath and knocked.

Beverly answered the door and smiled at him. "You look nervous."

"Shut up. Aren't you late for a class or something?"

She smirked back as she grabbed her purse and bag off the ground. "Canceled. I have a free evening and no idea what do to with it."

"You should go get drunk."

"Yeah, but I'm probably just going to hit the library and try to get ahead on my reading. You two have fun tonight" she said, smirking as she walked out the door. Zach shook his head and waved bye as he closed the door.

Zach walked through the house to the kitchen. He didn't see Kendall there and was about to head upstairs when he heard Will outside. He walked to the doorway of their screened in porch and stood completely still.

'She's a vision' he thought to himself. She had her back to him, putting the finishing touches on the table. She looked stunning in a dark red skirt, flirty black heels, a black blouse with her hair piled on top of her head. His mouth went dry as she craned her head from one side to the other, giving him a nice long view of her neck. He failed to notice Will already sitting at the table until he cried out "Dad! Eat now!" Kendall whipped around and caught Zach checking her out. She smiled shyly and started to say something when Will screamed "Dad here. Eat now!" She turned back and glared at Will.

"Boy, you are quickly becoming a pain in my…"

"Kendall" Zach said, laughing as he walked over to Will.

Kendall laughed back. "Sorry. Did he not eat all his lunch today?"

"All of it and some of mine. Why?"

"He's been yelling 'hungry' for the last 45 minutes – this after Beverly gave him a snack at about 2. I told him he couldn't eat till you got here, so…" she said, trailing off as she took a good look at him.

'Oh my god…' she thought to herself. He looked wickedly scrumptious in khaki pants and a dark blue dress shirt. She could smell his aftershave and could only assume that he has showered and changed before coming over here. Suddenly he was next to her and she shook her head to snap herself out of it.

"I'm sorry, what?"

He smirked at her and she felt like she was back in high school and the quarterback was talking to her. "I said are you alright? Your face got flushed there for a second and…"

"Oh, yeah. I've just been running around all day."

"Well, everything looks great" he said, leaning into her a little more. She felt the air fly out of her lungs when he squeezed her hand. 'God, I have missed him' she thought.

"You hungry?" she asked, taking a step closer to him. He inhaled her scent and it nearly sent him over the edge.

"Starved" he whispered to her, running his hand up and down her arm. She leaned in and rested her hand on his chest. She licked her lips, lips that were begging for him to kiss them. Zach smiled at her and started to lean in to…

"HUNGRY" Will yelled from behind them, breaking them apart. They both looked down at the boy and then back at each other and started to laugh.

"I guess I should got get the food" Kendall said, heading toward the kitchen.

"You need any help" Zach said, walking toward her.

"No, I've got it. Sit down and keep his highness company." Zach smiled at her retreating form. He dropped a kiss on Will's head before sitting down. Will looked at where his mother had been then back at Zach. "Mommy pretty" he said, giving Zach what he could only classify as a smirk. "Yeah, mommy's very pretty" he said.

Kendall came back with a tray full of food and a bottle of wine, elegantly paired with Will's sippy cup. "One more trip" she said.

"I thought you said you didn't need any help" Zach said, getting out of his chair.

"I don't. Well, ok, I lied – take the stuff off the tray, would you?" she said, walking back into the kitchen. Zach removed the items from the tray and gave Will his bottle before pouring two glasses of wine. Zach sat the tray off to the side as Kendall returned with their food.

Zach laughed when she set down the tray on the table. "Lobster" he said, looking up at her.

She smiled back. "Yeah, umm… I just figured…"

"It's perfect."

"And of course, Prince Slater's hamburger and mashed potatoes."

"Potatoes" Will yelled, grabbing his spoon and digging into the heaping mound of mashed potatoes on his plate.

Kendall sat down and placed the napkin in her lap. "Well, dig in. I'm sure…"

Zach held up his wine glass and she quieted, doing the same. "Thank you for inviting me over for dinner."

"Thanks for coming" she said as they clinked their glasses together.

* * *

They talked about frivolous stuff over dinner, laughing like they hadn't laughed together since before Ryan took Will. They had moved to the chaise-lounge chairs on the outside deck to watch the sunset and continued to talk and laugh well after the sun had set. Zach looked down at one point to see that Will had fallen asleep in his lap.

"I guess someone is ready for bed" he whispered.

Kendall looked over and smiled. "I should hope so. That boy ran me ragged this afternoon. Do you want me to take him?"

"Nah. I'll take him up" Zach said, gently getting up out of the chair. Kendall held the door open for him and followed him through the house and up the stairs. Silently, they both changed him out of his clothes and into pajamas before setting him down. They both dropped a kiss on his head and headed out of the room. They took one more look before Zach pulled the door shut behind them. They walked down the steps and stopped at the bottom, unsure of what to do next.

"Do you… do you want some help cleaning up?"

"Yeah" Kendall said breathlessly. They smiled at each other and walked into the kitchen. Zach cracked jokes as they loaded the dishwasher and put food away. Zach wiped down the table outside and walked back in the house as Kendall wiped her hands on a dish towel.

"I guess that's it. Thanks for helping" she said, smiling brightly at him.

"My pleasure. Well, I guess I should…" he said, walking toward the front door. Kendall froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. 'Well, you can't let him walk out that door' she thought to herself. She bolted after him and grabbed his arm as he was about to open the front door. Zach slowly turned around and stared at her.

"Kendall…" he said, taking a step toward her.

"Please don't leave" she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

"Kendall, I don't think that…"

"Zach, please – just hear me out and then, if you still want to… leave, I won't stop you" she breathed out. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. He simply nodded and she led him into the living room. He sat down on the couch and she flipped on a lamp and pulled the ottoman up in front of him, so she could look him in the eye while she talked.

She sat down and closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see his warm, gorgeous brown eyes staring back at her.

Zach sat up and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "Kendall, you don't have to…"

"Yes I do" she said, sitting up straighter and squaring her shoulders, ready to pour her heart out.

"I had no right to say those words to you, Zach, no right at all. There are no excuses – I won't use them. I was wrong, dead wrong, and there's all there is to it."

"Kendall…"

"I've got more to say. Please, please let me get through it and then you can say whatever you want to me, alright?" Zach nodded and stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"It was a stupid sentence, actually, because nothing could be further from the truth. Every time I look at Will, all I see is you. When he's up to something, he gets that same twinkle in his eye that you get. He cocks his head just like you do when he's thinking about something and I swear to God, Zach, just when I'm about to yell at him for something, he displays your smirk on his face and the only thing I can do is laugh. He's your son, inside and out. I know that, I have always known that. I will never forgive myself for saying those hateful words to you. You may not be his father, but you are 100 percent his dad. You are the only dad I would ever want for him, the only husband I will ever want for myself. I love you and this family so much that I could kick myself for saying something so stupid, something that could put this life I love so much in jeopardy. Zach, please, you have to know that I…"

She looked down and clenched her hands together, praying for the strength to get through whatever she had coming. Zach watched his wife barely holding it together and he knew he had to help her. He reached over and wrapped his hands around hers, giving her the strength to continue.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Please don't leave Zach. I will do anything, say anything if you just don't walk out that door. I love you more than life itself and if you were to leave… well, I don't know how I would go on, how I would continue to breathe. We will do this on your terms, how you want, as long as you don't wa…"

The rest of her words were caught in her mouth as his lips descended on hers. She brought her hands up to his face, making sure that this was real, that he was here and kissing her. When he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, she groaned and gave in to him completely. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ottoman and pulled her onto the couch, leaning back so that she was soon lying half on top of him.

The rest of the world melted away for her – all that mattered to her was him. She couldn't get enough of him. She ran her hands over his chest, up and down his arms, through his hair and back again. She shuddered as he slipped on hand under her blouse and lightly tapped his fingers against the small of her back. She tried to convey everything she felt, every emotion she had had over the last week through this sensual, mind blowing kiss.

Kissing her made him feel whole again. He could feel his heart literally mending itself as she ran her fingers through his hair. He slowly ran his hands up her body to her face – he had things he wanted to say to her, things he needed to say. He framed her face with his hands and pulled her back slightly, finally breaking their kiss.

The look of desire and unadulterated love in her eyes made him want to forget the words, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't leave her hanging; leave her wondering what he was thinking.

"It's my turn now" he whispered to her. She nodded and started to push herself up when he grabbed her. He pulled her back down and nestled her between his body and the pillows on the back of the couch. He dropped a light kiss on her forehead and pulled back, looking her square in the eye – something he wasn't sure he was ever going to be able to do again.

"Kendall, you… you gave me this life. You entrusted me with this boy asleep upstairs. You didn't have, but you did. You gave me your heart and your family and I love this life more than anything else in the world, too. My heart broke for you, for me, for him, for everyone while he was gone. You threw those words out at me… I knew they were just words, but they hurt just the same. I needed some time to heal, to get over the hurt of having you question me, even if just for a second. Kendall, I don't want to leave, either. I would never voluntarily leave my family, and I'm sorry I did, but needed some time, some perspective, to clear my head and gather my thoughts."

"And have you… because if you need more time, you can have it…"

"I don't. You are my life, Will is my life – I know that, I've always known that. I don't want to leave tonight, tomorrow or ever, as long as you will have me here. It hurt to be away from the two of you for a day. I love my life and I love you and our son with all my heart."

The tears she had been holding back started to fall freely down her face. "Say it again" she said as he wiped the tears off her face.

He laughed and ran his thumb over her cheekbone. "I love you Kendall." Kendall laughed and pushed herself off the couch, pulling him with her. As he got his footing, she threw her arms around his neck and sighed, happily. "Say it one more time" she whispered in his ear.

He leaned down and placed an open-mouth kiss behind her ear and smiled as she moaned loudly. "I love you with all my heart and will till the day I die" he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too, Zach, and always will." He pulled back and looked at her. 'I want to make love to you" he said to her as he ran his hands up and down her back.

"Oh thank God" she whispered back, falling into his arms as he picked her up to carry her up the stairs to their room.

* * *

Zach awoke the next morning to the feel of something small pushing against his chest. He cocked one eye open to see his son sitting on his chest. "Morr-ing" Will yelled, giggling as Zach tickled his stomach. Zach rolled him off his chest and onto the bed, noticing that Kendall was missing. "Where's mommy?" he whispered to his son. Will pointed toward the bathroom. Zach nodded. "You stay here" he whispered as he got out of bed.

Kendall finished brushing her teeth and smiled as Zach's reflection appeared in the mirror. "Did he wake you?" she asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "Nah, I needed to get up anyway."

Kendall turned around in his arms and graced him with a long, passionate kiss. "Why Mrs. Slater…" Zach said jokingly as she pulled out of the kiss. She just laughed and pulled out of his arms, walking back toward the bedroom.

They both stopped short and their hearts froze for a second – Will wasn't where Zach left him. They were both about to lose it when a small lump on the bed started to move under the sheets and comforter. Zach looked over at Kendall, who shrugged and pointed at him. "He's your son" she whispered to him.

Zach wiggled his eyebrows and walked around the bed. "Now, I know I left Will here somewhere" he said very loudly and the lump under the sheets froze. Zach suppressed a laugh and continued. "I know I told him to stay on the bed. Now where oh where could…"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Will yelled as he burst from under the covers. The look on her son's face had Kendall immediately doubled over in laughter as Zach shook his head at the little boy and plopped down next to him. "Me funny" Will said, smiling up at his dad.

"Yeah, I guess you are a little bit. Mommy seems to think so."

Kendall sat down next to her men and sighed happily.

Zach looked at his family for a moment and knew that this was perfect and how his life was meant to be. "So, I say the three of us blow off our day, give Beverly the day off and bum around. We can go to the park, the zoo…."

"ZOO!" Will screamed, jumping up and down on the bed.

"Well, there you have it" Kendall said. "Guess the zoo it is."

Zach reached over and pulled Kendall on top of him for another amazing kiss as Will continue to jump up and down on the bed, screaming zoo over and over until he collapsed on top of his parents.

THE END (with an epilogue to follow!)


	9. Epilogue

**_Welcome to the end. Thanks to all who reviewed and loved the story. I had so much fun writing this and Love Walks In! Thanks for reading. _**

* * *

Kendall looked over the top of her sunglasses toward the ocean, laughing at the sight in front of her. Will had wanted to build a sand castle, but it was starting to look like a sand resort to Kendall. Zach was running back and forth from the water to the sand as Will tried his best to layer the sand together.

Zach had called this her early 'Mother's Day' present. He showed up at her office three days ago with three tickets to Bermuda and reservations for a cabana on the beach. They had been talking about getting away for a vacation, just the three of them and Zach sprung this on her, thinking it was perfect since it coincided with Beverly's spring break and she could go home to visit her family.

"DAD!" Kendall looked over to see Zach standing in the middle of Will's castle. His eyes got wide as Will glared at him. "You bad at this!" he yelled and pushed himself up to toddle over to Kendall. Kendall couldn't help but laugh at the exasperation on her husband's face. Will plopped down next to Kendall as Zach slinked over.

"Will, I'm sorry."

"You messed it up" he yelled, throwing his hands up.

Zach looked down at his wife. "Where in God's name did he learn that?" Kendall pointed at her husband as she turned the page in her magazine. Zach glared at her before sitting in front of Will.

"Son, I'm sorry. You want to try again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but with mommy. You bad at this" he said again, crossing his hands across his little chest. The sight alone sent Kendall rolling on her back, tears falling down her face from laughter.

"I'm so glad you find this funny" he growled at her.

"Believe me, if you were in my position, you would be reacting the same way" she said as she stood up to wipe the sand off her legs. "It's for the best. We need to get going so we can get cleaned up and to dinner."

Zach just nodded and started to pack up their things. Before long, they were ready to head back to the cabana. "Piggy back ride" Will said to his father, reaching his hands up. Zach bent down and Will jumped on his back, locking his hands around Zach's neck. Kendall walked behind her men. Will turned back to look at his mother.

"Daddy good at piggy back ride, bad at sand castles."

Kendall started to roar again as Zach hung his head in shame. She walked up next to him and patted him on the chest, smiling.

"I am never going to live this down, am I?"

"Probably not" she said as they rounded the corner to their cabana.

* * *

One of the resort's sitters was waiting on them when they got back from dinner. They got Will changed and settled in for the night before they headed out. Kendall had been promised one night of drinks and dancing and Zach was holding up his end of the bargain.

A slow jazzy number started to play as Zach and Kendall finished their first round of drinks. Zach extended his hand to his wife and she gladly accepted. He spun her out on the floor before pulling her flush to his body. He took deep breath and inhaled the scent of her shampoo and perfume mixed together as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"So, I've been thinking about something" she whispered in his ear, ending the sentence with a light kiss on his earlobe. She smiled as he pulled her tighter to his body.

"And what's that?" he whispered back.

"An addition."

He pulled back and looked at her, one eyebrow cocked. "An addition to what?"

"Our family" she said, smiling brightly.

It took him a minute to fully understand what she was talking about, but when he did, a huge smile broke out on his face.

"So, Mr. Slater, I'd assume that is a plan you could be on board with?"

"Oh, you bet your ass Mrs. Slater" he said, laying a sensual kiss on her lips. She pulled back when things soon started to spiral out of control on the dance floor.

"So, when would you like to start?" he asked.

She smiled that sexy smile of hers; the one that she knew drove him crazy. "Well, I was thinking that tonight seems a good a night as any."

He pulled his hands off her hips and framed her face. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. I want another baby with you."

He kissed her passionately before grabbing her hand and pulling her off the dance floor. "Then what the hell are we still doing here?" he asked. All she could do is laugh as he grabbed her purse off their table and went out front to hail a cab back to the resort.

* * *

"Happy birthday to Will, happy birthday to you!"

Will and Zach smiled for the camera before he blew out his candles. Everyone around the table clapped and Kendall was more than pleased that they didn't have a repeat of last year's cake fiasco.

"Presents!" Will cried as Zach lifted him off of his lap. Will made a beeline for the living room to where all his birthday presents had been stacked. All of the adult quickly followed before he tore all the presents open. They had learned their lessons after this past Christmas.

Zach walked over and inspected the pile before turning to his son. "Which one first?"

Before he had a chance to respond, Kendall picked him up off the ground. "Mine first" she said, before she whispered in his ear. Will smiled brightly. "Go ahead" she said, nudging him with her nose.

"Mom said that her and dad are giving me a brother or sister for my birthday" he cried out. The entire room froze, staring at Kendall, who was smiling brightly. Zach was instantly next to her, taking Will out her arms. He just stared at her as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"We're pregnant" she repeated for the whole room to hear, not taking her eyes off Zach. The whole room started to cheer as Zach grabbed his wife and planted the mother of all kisses on her.

THE END (for real this time!)


End file.
